Theft of George Cross: Britain approaches Himachal police

SHIMLA - Britain has asked Himachal Pradesh police to provide more details about the theft of its highest civil decoration medal George Cross awarded posthumously to Naik Kirpa Ram.

With this, octogenarian Brahmi Devi has come a step closer to get back her husband’s posthumously-awarded bravery medal, stolen from her house seven years ago.

Naik Kirpa Ram of the 8th Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, Indian Army, was awarded the George Cross medal posthumously in 1946. The decoration was received by his widow, Brahmi Devi, from the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell. At that time, she was just 13 years old.

However, the medal was stolen from her house in Papral village in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district in 2002 and landed at an auction house in London, Dix Noonan Webb Limited, in November 2009. On the persuasion of the Indian government, the British government stalled its auction.

Deputy Inspector General N. Venugopal told IANS: “We (the police) have received a letter rogatory (a letter of request) from the British High Commission, asking more details regarding the theft of the medal and its ‘illegal’ landing in Britain.”

“Now we are gathering evidence to substantiate our claim that it was a stolen artefact and was illegally taken out of the country. We will also approach the local court (where the medal theft was reported) to issue the letter rogatory to Britain authorities for returning the stolen medal to Brahmi Devi,” he said.

British police have already frozen the medal as a disputed property.

“Now, its listing again for an auction is not possible as British police have declared the medal as a disputed property,” a police officer said.

Ashok Nath, the current owner of the George Cross medal who had listed it for auction in Britain, has written to Himachal Pradesh police, demanding a thorough probe into the medal controversy.

Nath claimed that he had acquired the medal nine years ago from S.L. Jain, who was a reputed coin and medal dealer in New Delhi, after being shown two affidavits along with a video which convinced him that the medals had been acquired in a proper manner.

Brahmi Devi has already said she had never sold the medal to anyone.